All Forum Posts by: John Underwood

Tax Lien / Deed expert for South Carolina.

Most of my house have been aquired through tax Auction for pennies on the dollar.

I also invest using my self directed to Roth IRA with checkbook control. My IRA currently owns 4 houses that have been purchase for ridiculously low prices and are rental properties.

I personally use supply and demand and I constantly see what my competition is charging and how full their calendars are with there set pricing.

John

it depends on what you want. If you have very limited funds then start with lots or low end houses. I have easily sold lots on ebay with a Quit Claim deed. I try to buy as many liens for as cheap as I can. So try not to get emotional and bid too much for one property.

Try and research as many properties as possible so you have many options of most of them are going for too high a price.

Make sure you drive by all the ones you narrow your list down to. If you skip this step you will be sorry. 

I spend hundred of hours doing the research and fine tuning my list.

If you have the list in Excel get rid of the properties with a FMV of higher than 75k and lower than 20k. The higher ones will be more likely to be redeemed by owner or mortgage company. The lower FMV ones have a higher chance of being junk. Try to maximize your time and dollars on properties you have a better chance of getting.

House that have an occupant will cost you less in the long ring than ones that are boarded up and vacant.

Stay away from the war zone areas also.

Look at what it sold for last. If it was less than $100 then it was just being transferred, but if it was 7000 then there might be something wrong with property.

Driving by the properties will keep you from making a huge mistake.

Good luck.

John

Why not just wait the 12 months and see what happens? You may still end up with the property or at least a nice interest rate on the investment.

You could also try try and sell lien to another investor.

John

I think it is a good idea. You could advertise on base bulletin boards and Homeaway.com.

Use satellite TV.

I am retired Navy and I can see a need for this when people are transitioning to this new location.

John

you can get the list of interested parties by doing a title search at you county register of Deeds office. Then make sure the lien is recorded in your name through the delinquent tax office that issues the liens.

Not sure about the for closure process I would contact an attorney.

In SC there is no foreclosure process. If the lien doesn't get redeemed in 12 months the county automatically mails you the deed.

John

VRBO/HomeAway already has this calendar functionality.

Why not check with them and see if they can provide a separate Homeowner login where they can only see their property, and your PM login can see all the properties you are managing.

I went to the Homeaway summit in Atlanta this summer and they seem to be very accommodating and they are constantly looking for ways to improve their system.

They may already have this in Beta form and you could possibly sign up as a Beta tester to get his functionality if it isn't available to the masses yet.

Certainly wouldn't hurt to ask.

Other option is to have a separate logon for each property on VRBO/HomeAway that you share with each owner. Cost = free, but less convenient. You would still get text and emails when there are inquiries or booking requests. The only other reason to logon is to make a change or to refresh calendar.

John

Jeremy,

Short answer is yes.

These are properties that already went through the auction and no one bid on them.

Be extra careful with these and check them out by looking at all the recorded documents at the ROD (Register of Deeds) website or office and drive by these properties to see why no one wanted them at the auction.

I have bought FLC properties and sometimes there are soooo many at auction that no one checked these out and you might find a gem that is covered with a little dirt that can be cleaned off.

If you can fix these up they make great rental properties!

Some have gone through the 12 month redemption period and you can get a deed right away, others still have time left on the 12 month period.

Good Luck!.

John

DEFINITELY!

Some states are better than others.

I know Texas is a good one. I live in South Carolina. 12% interest rated prorated quarterly for properties that are redeemed. If property is not redeemed county sends you a deed in the mail. I own 14 houses now and all are rented. 4 are owned by my self directed Roth IRA with checkbook control.

I have gotten houses for as little as $1200 that had central HVAC and a tenant that I didn't have to do anything with except start collecting rent.

My house purchases usually pay for themselves in under 2 years.

They deposit the rent in my bank account. No chasing rent. They pay or get evicted -usually. 

If they need something fixed I text a repair person and they go take care of it.

I am now cash flowing more money per month than my day job as an engineer!

It is not a get rich quick avenue, but with proper research and getting a couple of house or more per year at pennies on the dollar will start getting you there after a couple of years of sticking with it.

John Underwood

You can also research a few deeds back. If several people are currently on title then you might find a deed of distribution to show the property was inherited. This might mean that it is less likely to be redeemed because no one wants to pay the taxes owed.

Also if you check with the ROD (Register of Deeds) and you find a recorded mortgage, the bank might step in at the 12th hour and pay the taxes to protect their interest in the property. 

If it is a lower value property the bank or even Freddie Mac may choose to let the property go and write off the lose.

I own several Tax Deed houses that were formerly owned by banks or Freddie Mac.